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At Union, star access Max Kruse was in the starting lineup for the first time after two wild-card appearances, and he quickly restored the confidence of coach Urs Fischer. In the 14th minute, Sheraldo Becker hit a brilliant cross from the right wing, at the far post Kruse had said goodbye to his opponents and headed the ball precisely to a 1-0 lead.
Lichte asks for self-criticism
Kruse later said: “It was definitely a very good game for us. I was out for a year, it’s good to be back in the Bundesliga. Scoring here is a great feeling. And goals with headers are rare for me.”
Mainz coach Lichte admitted: “The fact that we have four here has nothing to do with the general situation, it only has to do with our performance on the field. It was not a question of system, we just did not defend well. But we did not advance either.” Now it’s important to work on everything and be self-critical. “
Becker back in Kruse
After an error from Alexander Hack, Kruse almost followed from the same position and with the same setter, but this time he fired just over the left post after a cross from Becker.
The hosts also had the next big opportunity. After half an hour, a deflected cross from Christopher Lenz landed on Nico Schlotterbeck, who shot Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner from close range.
Luthe at Union Gate unemployed
Zentner’s opposite, Andreas Luthe, who had been given preference over newly signed former Liverpool and former Mainz Loris Karius, was nevertheless nearly unemployed. At first, the 05er seemed to be striving to do better in race and matchups than recently with Achim Beierlorzer, who was fired after just two games.
But there was no orderly play going forward, quite the opposite: an avalanche of turnovers and replay errors, especially in midfield, destroyed almost all the promising attacks from the guests over and over again.
Ingvartsen follows up
Even after the change, Mainz remained restless and disorganized, and Union immediately set the tone again. Two minutes after the restart, Schlotterbeck missed with a five-pound header. But he had to go back two minutes later: Trimmel had prevailed on the right wing and crossed to the center, where Marcus Ingvartsen volleyed the ball over the line. This time, too, the 05ers lacked pressure on the flank player, as well as any assignment in the middle of the defense.
This early goal again was not a wake-up call for Mainz in the second half. The chaotic forward continued, but the defense remained incredibly poor. In the 62nd minute, after a Trimmel free kick, no invited defender took up Marvin Friedrich; He was able to head unhindered to make it 3-0.
Dream debut for Pohjanpalo
Soon after, Urs Fischer was able to afford to replace two of his strongest players in Becker and Kruse; quality followed immediately. Hamburger SV newcomer Joel Pohjanpalo was on the field for 35 seconds when, with a little luck and a lot of will, he maneuvered the ball over the line from close range to 4-0. After that, Mainz only cared about the damage limitation. Zentner succeeded in the 82nd minute with a good save against a powerful Pohjanpalo header after a Julian Ryerson cross, but that was no more comfort to the 05er’s overall performance with seven kilometers less mileage than Berlin.
Eiserne, who apparently suffered a muscle injury in injury time, will now compete at FC Schalke on Sunday after the international break (18 October 2020). Mainz hosted Bayer Leverkusen the day before.
